


Fresh Start

by Flaming_Hearts14



Category: Smosh
Genre: Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Body Dysphoria, Body Image, Damien's a king, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Hypoglycemia, Mentions of past abuse, Plus Sized Characters, Slow Burn (I think), self love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21537079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flaming_Hearts14/pseuds/Flaming_Hearts14
Summary: Melissa Duke, one of Courtney's best friends that moved to New York, moves back to California a year after ending an abusive relationship to start anew. Courtney introduces her to the Smosh crew, and she befriends everyone pretty quickly. Damien Haas takes an interest in her, and she has to admit she's got a thing for him as well, but problems from the past are holding her back. Can Damien and Melissa triumph over the negativity?
Relationships: Damien Haas/Original Female Character(s), Smosh/Original Female Character (Friendship)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Different

Shayne and Damien walk into the coffee shop, laughing at something the latter said.

"I can't believe Courtney was too busy to hang out today." Shayne says. "She literally said she would, and then cancelled on us at the last minute."

"I know." Damien agrees, and he suddenly places a hand excitedly on his friend's shoulder. "Should we kill her?" Shayne laughs at that.

"I would say we shouldn't." he replies, and Damien seems to notice something behind him.

"Is that Court?"

Shayne turns to see their blonde friend sitting at a table with a plus-sized girl with purple hair sitting across from her. The girl says something that makes Courtney laugh before they both take sips of their coffee. Shayne turns to Damien with a mischievous look on his face. 

"Should we crash?" he asks, and Damien grins. They walk over to the table, and Damien dramatically gasps.

"Are you Courtney Miller?" he asks excitedly, and Courtney looks at him and rolls her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, smiling.

"We could ask you the same!" Shayne replies. "You said you were busy today."

"I am." she says, and she gestures to the purple haired girl. "Guys, this is my best friend, Melissa. Mel, these are my friends, Shayne and Damien."

"Hi." Melissa says with a grin. "It's nice to meet you both, Court has told me such good things about everyone at Smosh." 

"Nice to meet you, too." Damien says, also smiling. 

"Mel just moved to the area, as per my request." Courtney explains. "She's got an apartment not too far from the studio."

"Oh, cool." Shayne says. "Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thanks." Mel says with a smile. “I’m really happy to be a lot closer to Court now.”

“I’m happy to have you closer, too, Mel.” Courtney says, grinning. 

“Do you guys wanna join us?” Mel asks, and Shayne and Damien shrug before sitting down, Damien next to her and Shayne beside Courtney. 

Two and a half hours later, the four are still sitting in the coffee shop, laughing and talking. Mel's already been invited to join one of Damien’s twitch casts and the next Try Not to Laugh. 

“Mel, the whole Smosh family is getting together for dinner tonight.” Shayne tells her. “Are you down to join?”

“Oh, I wish I could,” she replies. “but I still have a ton of unpacking to do.”

“Ah.” 

“But maybe we could do it tomorrow night? I should be all settled by then.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Courtney says, grinning.

“Works for us.” Damien says, and he and Mel share a smile.

****

Damien and Shayne sit in the car, heading for Damien’s apartment.

“Dude.” Shayne says, and Damien looks at him briefly before looking back at the road. 

“What?” he asks.

“Mel’s hot.” 

“Dude, that’s Courtney’s best friend.”

“I’m not saying I’m gonna go for her.” Shayne states. “I’m saying that you should.”

“Get the hell outta here.” he says laughing, and Shayne shakes his head.

“No, I mean it. You’ve been single for so long, you deserve to have a relationship.”

“I dunno, man. It’s been a while and dating is hard.” 

“But she seems really awesome.” Shayne states. “Different from the girls you’ve dated in the past.”

“In what way?” Damien asks.

“Well, she’s not a bitch, for one.”

“I dated like two girls that ended up being bitches.”

“Yeah, and that’s two too many.” he says, and Damien sighs.

“Let me get to know her first before I think about trying anything.” he says, mostly just to shut up his best friend. “I’ll go from there.”

****

The next day, Melissa sits in her kitchen, now officially all moved in. She takes a sip of her beer, scrolling through her phone. Courtney tagged Damien, Shayne and Ian in something on Instagram. Curious, she checks out the three guys' pages. 

Out of the three guys' pages, she definitely relates to Damien the most. He's got a couple of pictures from cons and Ren Faires, which is the kind of stuff that she's into as well. He seemed really nice yesterday; she can definitely see them being friends. Shayne was super nice too, so there's definitely a possibility there as well. And now she's so much closer to Courtney, she had a feeling she'll be seeing a lot of them. The Ian guy seems cool, based off his page, but she's probably gonna get to know him at dinner tonight.

_ Oh shit. _

Mel groans. Courtney wanted her to meet them at a restaurant downtown at 6. It's almost 5, and she looks like an absolute trainwreck after unpacking so many boxes and arranging the apartment.

_ Better haul ass and get ready. _

****

Courtney sits at a table in the restaurant. Boze, Flitz, Matt, Wes, Ian, Mari, Tommy, Joven, Noah, Keith, Olivia, Shayne and Damien are all there with her, and she's currently sandwiched between Damien and an empty chair.

"Is Mel gonna sit here?" Shayne asks, sitting on the other side of the chair.

"Yeah." Courtney replies.

"Court, scoot down one and sit next to me." 

"What? Why?"

"I just think Mel should sit between you and Damien." Shayne replies and Damien gives him a look.

"Dude, come on." he says.

"I'm just saying!"

"What's going on?" Mari asks, confused, and Damien sighs.

"Shayne is trying to get me and Courtney's friend Melissa together." he replies and Courtney gasps.

"Oh my God I didn't even think of that!" she says excitedly. "Holy shit you'd be PERFECT together!"

"Not you too." Damien groans.

"What? She just moved here from New York after being there for way too long, she hasn't had a boyfriend in over a year, and you're both total dorks. It would make so much sense."

"Your best friend  _ just  _ moved here and you're already whoring her out to some guy she barely knows?" Ian asks with a smile, and Courtney scowls at him.

"I'm not whoring her out, I'm just saying it might be a good thing."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Shayne." Damien states. "Let me get to know her first and I'll go from there."

"Okay, but she's sitting next to you." she says, and she shifts over to leave the empty chair between her and Damien.

"Hey." Melissa says, coming towards the table. "I'm sorry I'm late, I was unpacking and I lost track of time." She sits down in the empty chair. "Not a great first impression, but hey, I'm Melissa."

After everyone has introduced themselves to Mel, and her and Mari have bonded over having the same hair color, a waiter comes over to take their drink orders. He gets to Damien.

"Uh, I'll have a Coke." he says.

"God, I'd kill for a beer." Mel says, and she looks at the waiter. "Stella for me."

"Stella, huh?" Ian asks from across the table.

"It's my favorite. It used to be my dad's favorite too."

"Oh, yeah?" Keith asks with a smile. "What's his favorite now?" 

"Oh, my dad passed two years ago." she replies.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." 

"Thank you." 

"Can I ask what happened?" Shayne asks, and she nods.

"He battled with cancer for a long time." she replies. "Eventually it caught up with him." 

"That's one of the reasons I told her to move out here." Courtney states. "She doesn't have family out that she really talks to out East anymore, so I told her to move out here."

"So, Melissa, you went to high school with Courtney?" Noah asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, for her first two years. We met in the beginning of her freshman year; I was a junior. I moved to New York with my dad after I graduated and I lived out there for about 8 years, six of which I was in school."

"Oh, cool, what's your degree in?" Flitz asks.

"Psychology." she replies. "Last year I finished my Master's in School Counseling." 

"Nice." Wes says. "Any potential jobs out here so far?"

"Well there's a school about twenty minutes from my apartment that's looking for a school therapist, so I'm really gunning for that one right now. I interview for it next week."

"Good luck." Damien says, and she smiles slightly. 

"Thanks." She studies his hair for a moment. "I love the little bit of blue you have in your hair." 

"Thanks." he says. "I wanted some color but didn't wanna dye the whole thing." 

"Well, as you can see, I'm kind of all or nothing." She holds up a stand of her curly purple hair, and the two both chuckle.

Shayne and Courtney share a look. 

The rest of the night goes smoothly. Mel fits right in, and has been invited to come hang out again soon.

After she says goodnight, Shayne punches Damien in the arm as she walks away.

"What!?" Damien asks.

"Ask for her number."

"I'm not gonna ask for her number, that's too forward."

"Oh Christ, Damien." Shayne groans.

"Maybe wait til I'm out of earshot next time." 

The two guys turn and look at Mel, who has turned around and is now standing right in front of them. 

"Sorry." Shayne says, bright red. She looks at Damien and smiles. 

"You can have my number, if you want it." she tells him, and he smiles slightly, also blushing profusely. 

"Uh… yeah, I'd like that." He unlocks his phone and hands it to her, and she types in her contact information before handing it back to him. 

"See you guys." she says, and she turns and walks off again. Shayne looks at Damien, who is staring after her with a slight blush.

****

Melissa walks into the Ralph’s a couple days later, finally ready to do some serious grocery shopping for the apartment. She grabs a cart and heads for the aisles, holding her shopping list in her hand as she goes. 

“Melissa?”

She turns around and sees Tommy standing a little bit down the aisle.

“Oh, hey, Tommy.” she says, smiling.

“Fancy meeting you here.” he jokes, and she chuckles.

“What’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?” she teases, and he laughs at that. 

“Looking for red velvet cake.” he replies, taking a package out of his basket that has two slices of red velvet cake in it. 

“Oh, man, I’m such a slut for red velvet cake.” she says, and he laughs.

“I’m a slut all the time, so I feel.” She chuckles at that. “Are you busy tonight?”

“I don’t think so, why?”

“A bunch of us are hanging out tonight. Courtney said she was gonna text you later to invite you but now I'm seeing you so I guess she doesn't need to anymore."

"I'm down for that." she says, and he smiles.


	2. Crazy Ex-Boyfriend

Melissa walks towards her car in the parking garage, but she freezes when she sees someone leaning against it. She recognizes him immediately, and he hasn’t seen her yet, so she turns on her heel and sprints back towards her building. She rushes up the steps and back into her second floor apartment, tearing the door open and rushing inside before throwing it shut. The panic takes over her like a tidal wave, and she grabs her phone and dials Courtney’s number.

++++

Courtney walks down the aisle of the supermarket with Damien when her phone starts ringing.

“Oh, it’s Mel.” she says, and she slides her finger across the screen and brings the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

_ “Courtney.” _

The panic in her best friend’s voice is all too familiar to her.

“Mel? What’s wrong?”

_ “I need you to come to my apartment.” _

“I’m getting snacks with Damien for tonight.”

_ “Bring him with you, I don’t care, just get over here.” _

“Melissa, what’s going on?”

_ “Sam’s here.” _

She freezes in the aisle, and Damien gives her a confused and concerned look. 

“Is he at your apartment?” she asks urgently.

_ “He’s in the parking garage leaning against my car.” _

“Oh my god.” She turns to Damien. “I need you to drive.”

****

Damien parks down the street from the apartment complex, and he and Courtney tear down the sidewalk. They meet Mel in the lobby of the building, and he’s surprised to see that she’s visibly shaking. Courtney immediately pulls her into a hug. 

“Oh my god, Court.” the purple haired girl mutters into her best friend’s shoulder. “How did he find me? I’ve only been here for three days and I didn’t tell anyone what city I was moving to.”

“He’s a psycho.” Courtney says. “But I was really hoping he wouldn’t look for you.”

“What’s going on?” Damien asks, and Mel pulls away from Courtney to look at him.

“My abusive stalker ex came here from New York to find me.” she replies, and his eyes widen. 

“Does he know where you live?”

“He knows I’m in this building, that’s why he’s in the parking garage. I have no idea if he knows which apartment I’m in.”

“Are you safe?”

“Not if he finds her.” Courtney tells him, and she looks at Mel. “Let’s go get some of your things, you’re staying at my place tonight.” She nods. “Damien, we’ll be right back. Just stay here.” He nods and they head off towards the stairs. He takes a seat and looks out the window; he spots a guy standing across the street and staring into the lobby. The dude is wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and a brown leather jacket. He’s got shaggy blonde hair and he’s wearing a pair of Tims. Damien gets a bad feeling about him and dials Courtney’s number.

_ “Hey, what’s up?” _

“What’s Melissa’s ex’s name?”

_ “Sam Brower.” _

“What does he look like?”

_ “Uh, he’s tall, wide shoulders, he’s pretty built. Why?” _

“Is he blonde?”

_ “Yeah. Why?” _

“Because he’s staring into the lobby from across the street.”

_ “Fuck, he saw me.” _

“What do we do?”

_ “Listen, I need you to call the police; tell them your friend’s crazy ex is stalking her and he’s standing outside her building. Give them his name, Sam Brower. He’s got a record, they’ll look it up. Tell them to send a patrol. If he sees a cop, he’s gonna leave.” _

“Okay. Jesus, Court, this is scary.” 

_ “I know, but right now we need to focus on protecting Melissa.” _

“Right. I’m gonna call the cops.”

He hangs up the phone and dials 911.

_ “911, what’s your emergency?” _

“Hey, my name is Damien. I’m sitting in the lobby of the West Angel apartment complex and my friend’s crazy ex is outside stalking her.”

_ “Do you know his name?” _

“Yeah, it’s Sam Brower.”

_ “Okay. I’m sending a patrol over now. Looks like he’s got a record, so they’ll be there as soon as possible.” _

“Thank you.”

_ “Stay on the line until you see my guys, okay?” _

“Yeah, I will.”

_ “Damien, is your friend safe right now?” _

“Yeah, she’s upstairs in her apartment with another friend of ours.”

_ “Is this friend from New York?” _

“Yeah, why?”

_ “Sam Brower’s records are all from New York. Looks like he booked an Airbnb not too far from the apartment complex you’re in.” _

“Yeah, my friend said she thinks he came here looking for her.”

_ “Given the things I’m seeing on his record, that makes sense to me… Are you seeing my patrol yet?” _

Damien looks out the window again, and he sees a patrol car coming up in the distance.

“Yeah, I see them.”

_ “Great. They have justifiable cause to arrest him, based on his record, so they’re gonna take him in, and your friend is gonna be fine.” _

He lets himself breathe.

“Thank you so much.”

_ “It’s part of my job, you don’t have to thank me. You have a good day now, okay?” _

“You too.”

He hangs up the phone and watches out the window. The police officers get out of the car and approach Sam. A few minutes later, he’s in the back of the car in handcuffs. Damien dials Courtney again.

_ “Is it safe?” she answers. _

“Yeah. The cops had justifiable cause so they arrested him. The car just drove away.”

_ “Good. We’re coming down now.” _

****

That night, some of the Smosh fam are sitting in a big booth at a bar. Shayne, Courtney, Olivia, Keith and Noah are sitting on one side of the table, and Tommy, Ian, Wes, Damien and Melissa are sitting across from them. Everyone has drinks, Damien’s being non-alcoholic. He keeps sneaking looks at Mel, feeling her leg shaking beside his under the table. She’s staring down at her beer, silent for the last few minutes. 

“You okay?” he asks her, quietly enough so that no one else can hear. She looks at him, and she has a nervous expression on her face.

“Yeah.” she replies at the same volume. “I’m just a little shaken.”

“That’s understandable. Everything that happened was pretty scary.” She nods. 

“So, uh… what do you like to do for fun?” 

“I play a lot of video games.” he replies.

“Oh, yeah? Which ones?”

“Lots of ‘em. Outer Worlds, Legend of Zelda, Borderlands, stuff like that. Couple of horror games too.” 

“I love Legend of Zelda.” she says, and he smiles.

“You’re a gamer?” he asks, and she nods.

“Yeah, I’ve been playing video games since I was a kid.” 

“That’s awesome, which ones?”

“Well I first played Mario Party on my Nintendo 64.” 

“Oh, a classic!” he says happily, and she chuckles. “We played Mario Party recently with ghost peppers.”

“Well that sounds awful.” 

“It was.” She laughs at that. “What’s your favorite game of all time?”

“Of all time? Jeez, that’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. Uh, lemme think… hmm, maybe Breath of the Wild.”

“I love Breath of the Wild.” he says. “If I could live in any game world, it would be either Breath of the Wild or Persona 5.”

“Persona 5 is a  _ badass  _ game.” 

“For real!” She grins at his excitement, feeling her mood lifting as she talks to him. 

“I would love to live in The Last of Us.” she states. “I feel like me and Ellie would be best friends.” 

“You’re not afraid of the Infected?” he asks, smiling.

“No way.” She cracks her neck and squares out her shoulders. “I ain’t afraid of no zombies.” He laughs at that. “Okay, anime; yes or no?”

“Oh, fuck yes.” he replies. “What’s your favorite?”

“Your Lie in April, for sure. You?”

“The Promised Neverland.” 

“Oh, I’ve seen that one.” she says. “I love it.”

“Yeah? It tends to go overlooked.”

“Lots of good anime goes overlooked. Do you know how many people I know that sleep on animes like Yuri on Ice or Attack on Titan?”

“I love Attack on Titan.” he says. “I’d be hella dope in the Scout Regiment.”

“I feel like I would be a titan.” she states. “Just stomping on shit and eating everything I see. Surprise, that’s why I’m plus-sized.” He laughs at that. “Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of my body. I have a genetic thing and thyroid problems, and the two combined really fuck around with my weight.” 

“I’m not super happy about my body, either.” he states. “I try to work out, but I’m not very good at it. Shayne’s a gym wizard, but I’m really not in the same range as him.”

“Well, if it helps, I think you’re fine.” she says, and he smiles.

“Hey, same here.”

“Oh, please, I’m huge.”

“No, you’re really not. Don’t shit on yourself too much, you’re really pretty.” 

He realizes what he said as soon as he says it, and he turns bright red, something that Melissa seems to copy as she blushes and looks back down at her beer. When he looks at the rest of the group, realizing the table has gone silent, he sees  _ everyone  _ staring at the two of them. Melissa turns bright red upon realizing this, and Damien gives them all a collective look of annoyance.

“So, who wants nachos?” Shayne asks, and conversation resumes at the table. Damien smiles at his best friend, who just smiles back and nods to him.

****

Melissa walks out of Courtney’s bathroom that night and takes a seat beside her on the bed. She takes out her phone and scrolls through twitter for a while, when Courtney clears her throat. Mel looks at her to see an expectant look on her face.

  
“What?” she asks.

“Are we just not gonna talk about the flirt session you and Damien had tonight?” Courtney asks.

“Oh, lord. We weren’t flirting.”

“Bullshit!” 

“Court, come on. I really don’t know if I can trust another guy after everything that happened with Sam.”

“Mel.” Courtney says. “You’ve been single for over a year.”   
  


“For good reason!”

“Damien’s incredibly different from Sam.” Melissa sighs at that. “Look, I know things were really bad with him, but Damien couldn’t be more opposite.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s so sweet and thoughtful, and he would do anything for the people he cares about. And he would  _ never  _ hit you.” Melissa sighs again.

“I’m just so gunshy.” she states. “After not being able to leave that psycho and have to deal with the abuse and the beatings for two and a half years, I just… I’m really scared, Court. I don’t think I could handle another bad relationship.”

“I get that.” Courtney says. “I’m just saying, I think you guys would be good for each other. He’s had some trouble dating in the past too, and I think you both could benefit from one another.” Mel sighs.

“Maybe.” she says. “I guess I’m not opposed to it, I just… I have some hesitations.”

“Which is fine. I just think it would be good.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”


	3. And Then, There's Damien

TWO WEEKS LATER

Melissa sits in the Taco Bell beside Damien, Shayne and Courtney sitting across from them. She looks down at her phone, staring at the picture she took of her sister’s wedding invitation. 

“What’s up, Mel?” Courtney asks.

“Anna’s getting married in three and a half months.” she replies.

“Who’s Anna?” Shayne asks.

“Her sister.” Courtney replies for her. “She’s, what, three years older than you?”

“Yeah, she’s 29.” Melissa replies. 

“You don’t seem too thrilled.” Damien observes, and she sighs.

“It’s not that I’m not super excited she’s getting married, I am, just… she’s like dead-set on me bringing a plus one, and I’m not dating anyone.”

“You don’t have to be dating someone for them to be your plus one.” Shayne tells her. “Courtney was my plus one to a wedding once, and we aren’t together.” 

“Why does she want you to bring a plus one?” Courtney asks. “Is it your anxiety?” Melissa nods.

“Do you have anxiety at weddings?” Damien asks her.

“I have anxiety at parties, and essentially anywhere there’s a ton of people or where it’s really loud. Weddings have both of those things.” She sighs. “Unfortunately, Anna is fully aware that my anxiety at parties is better when I have someone there for me, so she invited me with a plus one so I don’t have an excuse to go to the church and not the reception.”

“When do you need to RSVP?” Courtney asks. 

“Three weeks.” She sighs. “Maybe I just shouldn’t go.”

“To your sister’s wedding?” Damien asks. “No, you’re going.”

“With who?” she retorts.

“I’ll be your plus one.” he tells her, and Courtney and Shayne share a look.

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking me, I’m telling you that I’m going to.” She smiles at that.

“Well… thank you. I guess I’ll RSVP yes.” He smiles slightly and nods. She suddenly stiffens and puts her phone on the table, staring down. “Someone’s staring at me.”

“What?” Shayne asks.

“I can feel it, someone behind me is staring at me.” Courtney nonchalantly looks behind her, and her face drops.

“Don’t panic.” she says quietly. “Act natural, pretend you don’t notice.”

“Is it Sam?” she asks, nearly whispering as she looks at her best friend, and Courtney nods. 

“The abusive stalker you told me about?” Shayne whispers, and she nods. “What do we do?”

“We stay, I would assume.” Courtney says. “I mean, we’re safest in public, right? He knows someone would call the cops if he tried something.” 

“Probably.” Mel says, her voice wavering. “He’s never tried anything in public before.” 

“Okay, so just act natural and pretend you don’t know he’s here.” Damien says, and she nods. He feels her leg shaking beside his, so he places his hand on her thigh. “Relax.” he says to her quietly. “You’re with us, Mel. That means you’re safe.” She nods and the table tries to resume normal conversation. At some point, Damien goes to move his hand from her thigh, but she grabs his hand under the table and holds it tight, not ready for the comfort of it to be gone. He blushes, having gotten pretty close with her over the last two weeks and starting to really like her as more than a friend. Shayne and Courtney know it too, because they keep teasing him for it when she isn’t around. 

So he just sits there and holds her hand under the table, praying that his nerves and anxiety don’t make his hands shake like they always do. If his hands  _ are  _ shaking, she either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, because she makes no comment about it. Shayne and Courtney seem to have picked up on what’s going on under the table, and the fact that Damien’s face is a light pink probably gives it away a bit as well. 

They sit in the booth and chat for a while before Melissa’s breath hitches in her throat and she tightens her grip on Damien’s hand as she catches sight of Sam passing the table to walk out the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches him get in his car and pull out of the parking lot. When he’s gone, she lets out a breath and lets go of Damien’s hand as she buries her face in her hands. 

“You okay, Mel?” Shayne asks, concerned, and she takes a deep breath as she takes her hands away from her face, a few tears leaking from her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” she says. “I’m just so sick of seeing him around all the time.” Damien places his hand on her back, not quite sure how to comfort her. 

“Maybe you should get a restraining order, Mel.” Courtney offers. “Then it’s illegal for him to keep stalking you. And any judge would approve it since he’s got a record.” She nods.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

“We can take you to the courthouse after the shoot tomorrow, if you want.” Shayne offers. “So you don’t have to go by yourself.” She nods.

“If you guys don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Damien says, and she nods again.

“Thank you.” 

****

“Wait, so… run this by me again?”

Courtney chuckles as her and Melissa walk into the studio the next day.

“Fans have seen you on all our social media and they want to see you in some videos.” she replies, and Melissa shakes her head.

“Why?”

“I guess they like the way you interact with everyone.” She shrugs at that. “Plus you did a stream with Damien last week, so everyone ships you guys together.”

“Oh, christ.” she mutters, facepalming.

“What? It’s not like that means you guys are together. You still haven’t told me if you like him or not, so I’m making no comments.” There’s a pause as they step into the elevator. “Do you like him?” Melissa scoffs.

“Hold the door!”

Courtney puts her arm out to stop the elevator door from closing, and Shayne hurries inside. 

“Hey, guys.” he says. 

“Hey.” Courtney says. “Guess who we were just talking about?”

“Damien.” he guesses, and Melissa flushes a light pink. “Still hasn’t said if she likes him, huh?”

“Jesus, guys.” Melissa mutters. “Why does it matter so much?”

“Because neither of you have had much luck with dating in the past.” Courtney replies. “And you’re both such great people… A lot of us think you guys would be great together.”

“Who’s ‘a lot of us’?” she asks.

“Me,” Shayne starts. “Court, Ian, Noah, Keith, Wes, Tommy-”

“Holy shit, that many of you guys want us to get together?”

“Basically, yeah.” Courtney replies, and she sighs.

“You guys do realize he’s out of my league, right?”

“What!?” the two blondes both exclaim, looking at Melissa as though she’s insane.

“He’s out of my league.” she repeats.

“Why the hell would you think that?” Courtney asks. “You’re gorgeous.”

“I’m fat.” she states.

“Mel, you have shitty genetics  _ and  _ a fucked up thyroid. You being plus-sized literally isn’t your fault.”

“I’m still fat.”

“You’re thicc.” Courtney corrects. “Guys like thicc girls.”

“I’m literally too heavy to be considered thicc, I’m straight up fat.” 

“Jesus.” Shayne says. “Do you always crap on yourself like this?”

“This has been an on-going problem with her.” Courtney replies. “She’s literally gorgeous and she thinks she’s ugly.” 

“I’m 26 and I still have acne!”

The elevator dings, and they step out and start heading down the hallway.

“That doesn’t make you ugly.” Shayne tells her.

“Well I’m still too fat for someone to be interested in me.”

“What?”

The three turn around to see Damien standing in a doorway, looking at them with confusion written on his face.

“Oh, hey Damien.” Shayne says with a grin, seeing that Mel has now turned bright red. 

“Did I just hear you right?” Damien asks her, and she forces herself to make eye contact. “Did you just say you’re too fat for someone to be into you?” She clears her throat.

“Uh… yeah, sorta.” She looks to Courtney for help, but her best friend just shakes her head with a shit-eating grin on her face.

“Do you really feel that way?” he asks, and Mel looks at him again.

“Well… yeah, I guess. I just… Sam used to give me a lot of shit for it and I guess I just feel like it makes me harder to love.” 

“Mel, that’s literally not true at all.”

“I dunno, I just… I’ll never take your breath away, ya know?”

“I wouldn’t say that’s true.” he states, and she blushes even more, if that’s possible. 

“I… uh…”

“If it helps, I think you’re gorgeous.” he tells her, a hint of nervousness within him as he blushes a light pink, and her stomach does a somersault.

“Oh… uh, thanks, Dame.”

“I’m just being honest.” She nods. “I don’t like that self-hate thing you do sometimes, don’t do it around me, okay?” She stares at him for a moment before nodding. He nods too, and then turns and heads off down the other hallway. When he’s out of earshot, Courtney and Shayne both burst out laughing.

“Shut it.” Melissa warns, but they both laugh.

“Look how  _ red  _ you got!” Shayne says.

“Fuck you both.” she says, still bright red as she turns and walks in the opposite direction that Damien went. Courtney and Shayne high-five before following after her. 

“Someone just saw Damien.” Ian observes when he sees Mel walk onto the set with Courtney and Shayne tailing behind her.

“Oh my god, fuck all of you.” she mutters, smiling slightly, and everyone on the set laughs. “Is this seriously a thing?”

“Let’s find out.” he says, and he turns to the entire Smosh fam. “Raise your hand if you think Mel and Damien should be together.” The vote is unanimous, and Mel groans and buries her face in her hands. 

****

Later that day, Mel, Damien, Courtney and Shayne head out to Mel’s car to make their way to the courthouse when Melissa’s phone trills with a text alert.

**_New Message_ **

**_RESTRICTED_ **

She raises a brow and opens up the text message. Upon seeing its contents, she stops dead in her tracks and tears spring up in her eyes.

“Mel?” Damien asks, and he walks over and looks over her shoulder. He sees that it’s a picture through the window of her apartment, capturing her in her bedroom in just a bra and a pair of underwear. “Holy fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Courtney asks, and Mel holds her phone out to her to show her and Shayne. “Oh my god.”

“I changed my number.” Melissa says, dread evident in her voice. “How the fuck did he get my number?” Her breathing starts to pick up and become labored and uneven, and Damien can tell she’s starting to panic. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” he says, placing a hand on her back.

“It’s not okay, Dames, he’s got pictures of me.”

“And you’re getting a restraining order.” Shayne reminds her. 

“He’s gonna post them.” she says, breathing getting worse. “Oh my god, he’s gonna revenge porn me.” Tears start to leak from her eyes, and she goes to bury her face in her hands, but Damien beats her to it and pulls her into a hug. She cries into his shoulder, and he rubs her back with one hand in an attempt to comfort her.

“Shh, it’s okay.” he coos. “We’ll figure it out, Mel, it’s gonna be fine.” 

“People are gonna see that picture. God, I’m gonna get torn apart on the internet, my body is disgusting.”

“Hey, what did I say about the self-hate?” She hesitates.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, just don’t do that again.” She nods into his shoulder. Courtney and Shayne look at the two of them with sympathy written on their faces as Damien tries to console his terrified crush. “It’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna take care of it, I promise. We’ll all be on your side, we’ll be right here the whole time.” He tightens his hold on her. “ _ I’ll  _ be right here. I promise.”

****

Melissa sits between Damien and Courtney in the waiting area in the courthouse. She just finished filling out a ton of paperwork, and now she’s waiting for them to call her to the desk and give her a date for a hearing (something she’s not looking forward to as it means she’ll need to be in the same room as Sam). Her leg is shaking, something Damien picks up on before placing his hand on her thigh. 

The feeling of his warm hand on her leg causes butterflies to pop up in her stomach, in a stronger way than usual. 

She’s grown close to Smosh over the last two weeks, starting to trust them, which is really hard for her to do sometimes. She’s developed a sibling-like bond with Shayne and Ian, both of them being pretty protective over her. Ian even insisted on paying to cover any expenses from the court process of getting the restraining order, saying that she shouldn’t have to pay to feel safe. Shayne has been really supportive with her anxiety and PTSD, and has been trying to cheer her up whenever she has a bad day. Courtney has always been an amazing best friend, but the last two weeks have really morphed their friendship into a more sisterly relationship. 

Keith and Noah are awesome, too. She hasn’t spent as much time with them, but they’ve hung out quite a bit and she definitely considers them friends of hers. Tommy has become her new gay best friend, and her and Sarah, Olivia and Wes have bonded quite a bit as well. Boze and Mel have also become friends, Mel envying her for having the balls to get piercings. Matt Raub has become a pal as well, always inviting her to come hang out on set during shoots on the days she’s not working (since she got hired for that School Counselor job she interviewed for last week). Mari and her have developed a friendship too, which started from them both complementing the other’s purple hair. And, if you’re friends with Mari, you have to be friends with Joven as well, so that’s come about too. Sohinki and Lasercorn aren’t around as much, but she’s friendly with them both. 

And then, there’s Damien.

Mel can’t really say that they’ve been flirting with each other, because it’s mostly just been slightly nervous -- and a tad awkward-- interactions with each other. But, she  _ would _ flirt with him, if she was any good at it. She knows she likes him as more than a friend, that’s become blatantly obvious to her, but she has yet to admit it to anyone other than herself. She knows the whole Smosh crew wants them to get together, but she has to admit that she’s hesitant.

Yes, it’s been over a year since she  _ finally  _ managed to safely break up with Sam, but that relationship was two and a half years of absolute hell. He would beat her with incredible frequency, and he would put her down and berate her all the time. Sometimes she felt like he was only dating her to feel dominant over someone else, and that he was. Melissa has always been more of a submissive personality, and Sam knew that (and took it to a whole new level). She wanted to break up with him after about six months of being together, but it wasn’t safe. If she had broken up with him before she did, she would have been in a  _ ton  _ of danger, more than she is now. 

But after two and a half years of dating, and being totally fed up for the entirety of the year following her dad's death, she managed to get her own apartment on the complete opposite side of The City, and that’s when she finally broke up with him and moved into her own place. She had never wanted to live with him in the first place, but he insisted, and what Sam wanted is what Sam got. 

But Damien is nothing like Sam, she’s come to know that. He’s kind and sweet, and he’s constantly building her up when she’s tearing herself down like she’s been conditioned to do. He combats her negative self-image with compliments and praise, making a point to tell her that he thinks she’s smart whenever she helps the Smosh fam brainstorm, or pointing out how great he thinks she looks when she wears a new outfit or does something different with her hair. And all of this in a span of two weeks. She knows it’s not an act because no one would waste their time faking kindness to the extent that Damien expresses it. So it’s got to be genuine.

So what the hell is she so afraid of?

She sighs and takes out her phone, making a point to nonchalantly shield the screen from the brunette sitting beside her with his hand on her thigh. 

**_To: Shayne Freakin Topp & Court_ **

**_I hate you guys._ **

They both check their phones, give her a confused look, and go back to the group she just created.

**_From: Shayne Freakin Topp_ **

**_Why?_ **

**_From: Court_ **

**_Wtf did we do?_ **

She sighs.

**_To: Shayne Freakin Topp & Court_ **

**_Because you guys were right and I’m mad at you for it_ **

**_From: Court_ **

**_Right about what?_ **

She takes a deep breath.

**_To: Shayne Freakin Topp & Court_ **

**_I think I might have a huge crush on Damien._ **

She sees the two blondes grin before looking at her. Courtney sticks out her tongue as Shayne gives her an “I told you so” expression. Melissa mouths “fuck you” to the both of them before locking her phone and putting it back in her pocket.

“Melissa Duke?”

Damien removes his hand from Mel’s thigh as she gets to her feet and walks up to the man standing next to the receptionist behind the front desk. 

“That’s me.” she says, and he hands her a yellow slip of paper.

“This is a summons.” he tells her. “Your hearing date is November 10th at 3 pm. That’s about a month and a half from now, so get something together to make your case to the judge. From the documents we’ve looked at, you’ve got a good shot at getting what you want, but you’ll still need to be convincing.”

“Okay.” she says. “Thank you.” She turns and walks back to the group, giving them a nod to tell them that they can head out. 


End file.
